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Fewer cars for sale privately - Sulphur Man

Wouldnt surprise me. If you take the 'right' car to them they can be surprisingly competitive. eg. £2600 for my mother-in-laws 2007 Honda Jazz SE auto - with a dink on every panel, a smell of damp in the boot and a crumpled offside wing, but clear MOT, FHSH and just 38k on the clock.

Also, cars are more reliable than ever, despite some well documented exceptions (looking at you JLR). People arent very well off now - keep the car you've got until it's beyond economic repair.

Fewer cars for sale privately - SLO76

There seems to be fewer cars for sale privately. Certainly not many S-Max near to me. Is this because of webuyany...?

Yup, these car buying firms a big part of the decline in private sales, that and the volume of fraudsters and scam artists you have to contend with.
Fewer cars for sale privately - gordonbennet

I agree about the low life's of society putting off genuine sellers, and genuine buyers too.

Fewer cars for sale privately - Big John

I agree about the low life's of society putting off genuine sellers, and genuine buyers too.

Indeed,

However in addition the confusion and potential liabilities of the current car tax regime has helped more or less kill off selling cars privately

Fewer cars for sale privately - barney100

Our local paper used to have plenty of private adds for cars but very few now. It's mostly on line now you don't see much locally.

Fewer cars for sale privately - sammy1

What's killing private sales,increased price of late reg cars,no warranty when paying out large sums.hassle and expense of taxing and keeping insured two cars until the new one sells and PCP on new sales. The money tied up. I would still rather sell private than give it away as part ex!

Fewer cars for sale privately - James phillips

What's killing private sales,increased price of late reg cars,no warranty when paying out large sums.hassle and expense of taxing and keeping insured two cars until the new one sells and PCP on new sales. The money tied up. I would still rather sell private than give it away as part ex!

Couldn't disagree more. Private sales allow time wasters to come who have no intention of buying. My Jaguar was on sale and 40 people viewed before I got a sale. A garage would have been much easier.

Fewer cars for sale privately - Leif

I was offered £1,000 PEx by a VW dealer against my VW UP 2012 reg with 13,000 miles. Online tools and forums suggested a private sale would get me £1800 upwards. So I tried WBAC expecting to be ripped off, and was offered £1700. So I said I wanted at least £1800, and they agreed. I spent £50 on cleaning materials to make it look tidy inside. Maybe I could have got more privately, but an ebay ad costs ~£50, and as said there are tyre kickers, and the hassle of having to meet someone, and then avoid scams e.g. forged bank notes.

Fewer cars for sale privately - Sofa Spud

Our local paper used to have plenty of private adds for cars but very few now. It's mostly on line now you don't see much locally.

They have fewer ads in most categories these days, the exception being property.

Why? It's the internet, of course!

Edited by Sofa Spud on 03/07/2018 at 22:56

Fewer cars for sale privately - Bolt

Our local paper used to have plenty of private adds for cars but very few now. It's mostly on line now you don't see much locally.

They have fewer ads in most categories these days, the exception being property.

Why? It's the internet, of course!

Our local used to be printed in the many thousands but since they have been online only a few get it, its an advantage on the net as they are up to date every day instead of waiting a week for it, and appear to put more in it than they did printed version.

as for selling cars I think most sell to wbac as its quicker than advertising, people I know that have tried advertising have waited months for a call, or those on the net get offered daft amounts way below the value of the motor without even looking at it, stupid imo

Fewer cars for sale privately - sammy1

First thing I ask myself when buying a car is can I sell it without incuring too much of a loss, not at all surprised that a Jag took 40 viewings to shift as they can be money pits!

Fewer cars for sale privately - James phillips

First thing I ask myself when buying a car is can I sell it without incuring too much of a loss, not at all surprised that a Jag took 40 viewings to shift as they can be money pits!

If you have the money to spend then it doesn't matter. I don't mind losing money on it is more the time wasters. I am going to charge them £50 a visit in future which should reduce my time being wasted. The successful buyer will get £25 discount then.

Your views on Jaguars is poor. They hold price very well.

Fewer cars for sale privately - SLO76
“I am going to charge them £50 a visit in future which should reduce my time being wasted.“

Gooood luck with that then. How exactly do you intend on forcing payment from people who view but then decide not to buy?
Fewer cars for sale privately - James phillips
“I am going to charge them £50 a visit in future which should reduce my time being wasted.“ Gooood luck with that then. How exactly do you intend on forcing payment from people who view but then decide not to buy?

They have to pay via PayPal for me to release the sale address

Fewer cars for sale privately - Leif
“I am going to charge them £50 a visit in future which should reduce my time being wasted.“ Gooood luck with that then. How exactly do you intend on forcing payment from people who view but then decide not to buy?

They have to pay via PayPal for me to release the sale address

Either you’re joking, or living on another planet. I fear the latter.

Fewer cars for sale privately - Andrew-T

<< Your views on Jaguars is poor. They hold price very well. >>

I've never owned a Jag, or even considered doing so. Traditionally their new value plummets for a few years, so you do have to 'have the money to spend'. After that they may well hold their price, but quite likely at a high cost of maintenance. Hence the earlier remark about money pits.

Fewer cars for sale privately - Leif

First thing I ask myself when buying a car is can I sell it without incuring too much of a loss, not at all surprised that a Jag took 40 viewings to shift as they can be money pits!

There are probably far fewer prospective buyers for a Jag than a city car for example.

Fewer cars for sale privately - Alby Back
Is it possible that there has been a bit of a cultural shift though? I know there are plenty of people who just keep renewing their pcp to stay in a new car, but for those for whom that is either not an option, or just not their preference, perhaps that group are just keeping their cars longer?

I know when I was younger, I used to change my private cars regularly, mainly because I was at the banger end of the market I suppose, and I guess it seemed easier to sell a terminal rust bucket on and replace it with one that wasn't yet in intensive care.

Modern cars last longer than they did, much longer. I can remember my dad buying a new Wolseley which by the time it was 5 years old was badly rusted. My wife's 10 year old Nissan looks and drives like new.

It does seem to have been a noticeably British habit to change cars regularly. I've lived and worked in other countries a lot during my life and in most places, with the exception of the USA, they seem to keep their cars much longer.

I've certainly changed my habits on privately run cars, now I buy cars which are mildly second hand so that someone else takes the first big depreciation hit, make sure they are suitable for my/our current lifestyle and are likely to suit it long term. Then we just run them until they are done and repeat the excercise when the time comes. Instead of paying a car loan or other finance arrangement, we just save an amount each month into an otherwise unused account so that when the day comes that a new car is required, there's more than enough to just go and get one.

Old fashioned? Maybe, but it suits my mindset.

Edited by Alby Back on 04/07/2018 at 21:01

Fewer cars for sale privately - Andrew-T
Old fashioned? Maybe, but it suits my mindset.

Mine too. In the old days I also changed cars every 2 or 3 years, because that was common advice back then, and the dreaded tinworm was usually well established so the car needed selling on before it became too obvious. Now there is no need for that, so I stick with old cars and swop them now and again at little cost just for fun.

Fewer cars for sale privately - expat
now I buy cars which are mildly second hand so that someone else takes the first big depreciation hit, make sure they are suitable for my/our current lifestyle and are likely to suit it long term. Then we just run them until they are done and repeat the excercise when the time comes.

Thats what we do. My last car was kept for 25 years and only sold because I wanted air conditioning, auto transmission and power steering for my daily driver. I have had my current car for 13 years and it is still fine. My wife's car is 9 years old and we have no intention of replacing it in the foreseeable future.

Fewer cars for sale privately - TheGentlemanThug
now I buy cars which are mildly second hand so that someone else takes the first big depreciation hit, make sure they are suitable for my/our current lifestyle and are likely to suit it long term. Then we just run them until they are done and repeat the excercise when the time comes.

Yep, same here. I keep my cars until they turn into expensive rust buckets. Even if the cost of repair is more than the value of the car, I'll still go for the repair if I can afford it and am confident that more repairs won't be needed particularly soon. I'd sooner pay a repair bill then fork over thousands for a new car.

Fewer cars for sale privately - FoxyJukebox

On the few occasions I have sold privately-I always sold via word of mouth to a friend or a friend of a friend(locally). Never a problem.

I would never advertise it for all the reasons others have described.

Fewer cars for sale privately - dan86

Last time I sold a car on AutoTrader it was just hassle. The car sold in a few days as it was priced correctly and correct description ect. It was the phone calls at 1 in the morning from people asking about the car. Do some people not have consideration for others and may be realise that majority of people are in bed at those times. It's for that reason I'd rather take a smaller amount from wbac ect than sell privately.

Fewer cars for sale privately - davecooper

All the dealers round my area seem to have plenty of used stock. I know it's not the cheapest option but there can be advantages to buying from the right dealer.

Fewer cars for sale privately - 72 dudes

When browsing local cars at dealers the other day, I noticed the local Honda dealer has a few 'old' cars around at prices which I think are extracting the urine.

2006 Civic 1.8 VTEc SE with 66k for £4995

2007 Jazz 1.4 SR CVT with 57k for £4695, this has been reduced by £300!

On the other hand, they have a 2012 Citigo SE with 40k for £4470, which looks very good value in this part of East Anglia. It is finished in Kermit green, mind.

Would be interested in SLO's views as to their true value and the dealer's thinking (apart from exploiting diesel worries among well-healed pensioners)

Edited by 72 dudes on 05/07/2018 at 14:41

Fewer cars for sale privately - Andrew-T

Would be interested in SLO's views as to their true value and the dealer's thinking (apart from exploiting diesel worries among well-healed pensioners)

They needn't worry if they are indeed well healed. I suspect you mean heeled, in which case, perhaps yes .... :-)

Fewer cars for sale privately - gordonbennet

2006 Civic 1.8 VTEc SE with 66k for £4995

Daughter's well specced 2008 5 door 65k miler , full Honda SH we picked up for £2430 from very good feedback ebay auction trader, though to be fair it had £400 worth of one mature previous owner shopping scrapes and it needed a set of tyres (£240 for good ones), so in theory it cost £3k with a new set of tyres and perfect paint, the bodywork will stay as is, its her work/dog carrier/runabout so it'll gain more scapes in time.

Could have got cheaper Astra/Focus even an Auris, but her Hondas have never let her down despite the most appalling thrashing and the high miles she does going to various contract sites, so another Civic it had to be.

Edited by gordonbennet on 05/07/2018 at 15:58